MOOSE JAW — Enforcing traffic laws in school zones is an everyday problem for most communities, including in Moose Jaw, where the police service is too short-staffed to respond effectively to those situations.
During the recent police board meeting, Commissioner Doug Blanc said some residents had asked him whether police would enforce certain issues near schools, such as parking. Moreover, he’s noticed that some parents park or stop in prohibited zones such as crosswalks.
Blanc then asked whether the Moose Jaw Police Service attended school zones, especially when children were leaving for the day.
“That has been a perennial challenge — not just here, but in cities all over the place,” said Police Chief Rick Bourassa. “So, the short answer is, we simply don’t have the resources to be there to address those things at the time.
“If there’s a safety issue and someone calls, we will address it. But … our focus has been on the speed. And fortunately, we haven’t had any injuries in the school zones, even with the parking (issues),” he continued.
There is a procedural question about whether a zone is no stopping or no parking since those are two different things, Bourassa chuckled. So, one officer has been working with city administration to clarify those differences.
One solution that other communities have developed is creating drop-off zones near schools, but those zones are usually added during the construction of new schools, he said. In Moose Jaw, there are no specific drop-off zones because of how old school infrastructure is.
“I wish I could say, ‘Yeah, we can get on that and stop that,’ but we just don’t have the resources to get at that,” Bourassa added.
The new joint-use school on 麻豆视频 Hill will have a dedicated drop-off zone, so that may alleviate some pressures, said board chairwoman Crystal Froese. Meanwhile, she received a call from a resident near Central Collegiate who was concerned about motorists speeding down the hill on First Avenue Northwest.
“And he’s quite fearful. He said when it was 40 (kilometres per hour), people sped; now it’s 30 (km/h), and he still sees people (speeding),” she remarked.
The resident also said he is concerned about student safety, especially around noon when youths — including some from Vanier Collegiate — use that street to reach area restaurants, Froese said. So, he is not convinced that the new 30 km/h signs are having the desired effect yet.
“I told him I would bring this (issue) to this meeting for attention, and if there’s any way that we can maybe set up some more speed (traps, that would be great),” she added.
Staff Sgt. Trish Seman replied that members with the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) program were in Moose Jaw recently enforcing traffic laws on First Avenue Northwest.
The members spent an hour patrolling the area and issued several summary offence tickets to motorists, while they impounded one vehicle and penalized one driver for going double the speed limit, she continued. The traffic blitz was successful and the MJPS and CTSS were pleased with the results, while she responded to the residents who lodged complaints about the speeding.
SGI provided funding for a new speed detection unit, which the MJPS is using and moving around the city to gather data, particularly in school zones and other high-complaint areas, said Bourassa. Once the agency collects the data, it will come to the police board and — through city council — work to acquire another unit or automated speed enforcement camera.
Froese agreed that the speed detection unit has been effective in deterring speed near William Grayson School.
